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McKinley: Shame on you, Lisa Jackson - W.Va. rep reacts to outrageous attack on coal

Washington, D.C. – Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV) reacted Thursday to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s false and offensive attack on West Virginia’s lifeblood, coal.

While addressing students Thursday morning at an event at Howard University, Jackson was quoted in Energy and Environment Daily saying, “In their [the coal industry] entire history -- 50, 60, 70 years, or even 30 ... they never found the time or the reason to clean up their act. They're literally on life support. And the people keeping them on life support are all of us.”

Jackson went on to lambast McKinley’s bipartisan coal ash legislation, saying, “That struck me as kind of a way of thinking about what's going on right now inside the beltway…So that's where we are. We're protecting the coal ash from the people rather then protecting the people from the coal ash.”
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McKinley's Coal Ash Bill Passes Full House

House Bill 2273, which for the first time sets minimum federal guidelines regulating coal ash while empowering the states to enforce them and authored by WV Representative David McKinley, passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Full press release regarding the subject legislation is attached.

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Mountaintop Mining Topic at Wood County Commission

A resolution opposing mountaintop coal removal died last Monday (10/17) for lack of a second during the Wood County Commission meeting.

In August, the commission sponsored two separate public informational sessions on mountaintop coal removal, including opponents of the coal mining practice and a second with coal industry representatives.

Both WVCA President Bill Raney and Vice President Jason Bostic attended the County Commission meeting and pointed out the positive side of surface mining and its significance to Wood County.  (See article: County takes no action on mining resolution)

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Capito: Despite EPA Claims, Regulations Kill Jobs

“While Jackson stays in Washington, D.C., meeting with environmentalists, I meet with coal miners, factory workers and business leaders who worry that their next stop will be the unemployment line,” – Rep. Shelley Moore Capito

Special to Roll Call

It’s disappointing that the Obama administration and the Environmental Protection Agency continue to enforce a “my way or the highway” approach to environmental regulations.

For decades, the EPA has successfully cleaned up our air and streams without slowing down the economy. Now, at the worst possible time, the EPA is advancing an extreme agenda that threatens millions of jobs across America.

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Production UP Through August

According to the EIA report, metallurgical exports for this past August (2011) were 33.6% ahead of those in August of last year, and steam coal exports were 34.6% ahead.  Comparing 2011 year-to-date exports through August with last year, shows metallurgical shipments 18.2% ahead (45.9 million tons v. 38.8 million tons) and steam coal is nearly 69% ahead (24.6 million tons v. 14.6 million tons).   2011 year-to-date imports were off by more than 26% (9.5 million v. 13 million).  West Virginia’s 2011 year-to-date production, through the week ending October 15th, was 3% ahead of last year (137.8 million tons v. 133.9 million tons). 

The eight Appalachian states of WV, KY, VA, AL, TN, OH, PA and MD are producing more than a 1/3 of America’s coal, but that accounts for 64% of the value of all the coal mined in this country and these states have more than 70% of the coal miners in the United States.